Cal Lu, St. Olaf comeback kings

Cal Lutheran came out a
little flat, but with splendid vistas surrounding them in their new
stadium.Photo by Joe Bergman for d3photography.com

Cal Lutheran almost let the glitz and glamor of a new William
Rolland Stadium and SCIAC rival Redlands get to them.

"We practiced for the first time in the stadium on Thursday,"
Kingsmen coach Ben McEnroe said. "They were kind of wide-eyed.
There were a lot of distractions just in the facility. We didn't
practice well, I told the coaches, I told my wife that 'We're so
enamored by the new facility.’ "

McEnroe said Friday wasn't any better at practice. It showed up
in the first half Saturday as they saw themselves trailing 24-0.
"All credit goes to Redlands; they came out, punched us square in
the eyes and played that game well," McEnroe said. "We came
out and they got after us."

Eventually, a halftime speech by a friend of McEnroe's with the
gist being 'How do you eat an elephant?' One bite at a time.

The second half was a feast for the Kingsmen.

"After halftime, we tried to focus on play by play, first down
by first down, touchdown by touchdown," said Kingsmen wide receiver
Eric Rogers, who caught six passes for 120 yards and two
touchdowns. "Players executed what our coaches planned due to our
adjustments.”

On the first drive of the third quarter, Cal Lutheran put
together a 10-play, 61-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown by
Daniel Mosier.

The Kingsmen's big surge came in the final quarter when it
scored three times, the final time coming on a 1-yard run by
quarterback Jake Laudenslayer with just 16 ticks remaining. Cal
Lutheran started the final drive at its own 2 with 3:02 left in the
fourth and no timeouts.

"At first we trying to get close to field goal range, then we
kept making plays to get closer," Rogers said. "It was kind of
surreal, kind of a like a Hollywood movie. It was incredible."

Even when it seemed bleak for the Kingsmen.

"Given the circumstances, this just builds our character,"
Rogers said. "We didn't give up on each other, we just kept getting
done."

Even if it was only one half. "Once we put a full game together
we're going to be scary good on both sides of the ball," Rogers
said.

Cal Lutheran (2-1, 1-0 SCIAC) moves on to host Whittier
Saturday.

Another epic second half rally

St. Olaf coach Jerry Olszewski had a similar situation that his
good friend McEnroe faced and also came out victorious. The Oles
trailed 28-10 in the second half at then-No. 5 Bethel on Saturday
afternoon with 13:36 left in the game.

"They’re the No. 1 defense in Division III," Olszewski
said. "It's not where I would've wrote the script."

Even with the improbable odds, the Oles were calm, cool and
collected when in the huddle.

"There was no panic, it was 'Let’s go to work,' "
Olszewski said. "I was real proud of their maturity at that moment.
They just stood up and got the job done."

St. Olaf cut the deficit to 28-17 with a seven-play, 56-yard
drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown pass by Dan Dobson to Steven
Asp. Then after a defensive stop the momentum started to turn the
way of the Oles. St. Olaf got a quick four-play, 95-yard touchdown
drive with the huge play coming on an 82-yard score from Dobson to
Jake Schmiesing. Then the final drive started at the 3:08 mark on
the Royals' 35. Dobson was near-flawless as he completed five
of six passes for 57 yards and capped the drive with a 1-yard
plunge with only 25 seconds left. It was his fourth touchdown of
the day (two rushing, two passing).

"Dobson played lights-out and kept making big plays and getting
big chunks of yards," Olszewski said. "(Also) the o-line didn't
give up a sack, they did a nice job protecting Dan."

With the win, the Oles are now in position to compete for a
playoff spot. Two weeks ago that wasn't the case as St. Olaf was
destroyed 49-14 by No. 3 St. Thomas.

"Every team's goal is to make the playoffs," Olszewski
said. "We have more specific goals, right now we're on track with
our goals. Any team can beat every body on Saturday."

As the Oles proved that, it was just the second time in 20 years
and first time in six years that St. Olaf topped Bethel.

"It was a great program win," Olsewski said. "I'm so happy for
the alumni. We've been so close years back, it's a great moment for
our college."

Dubuque set for showdown with Wartburg

Dubuque coach Stan Zweifel had a good feeling that his Spartans
were going to be an explosive team on offense. While he was right
about that, he couldn't imagine his team having such a solid
defense. The combination of the two has lifted the Spartans to a
5-0 overall mark, and top in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference with a 3-0 mark.

"We did expect to have a really good football team," Zweifel
said. "The offense is about as good as I thought it would be.
Surprisingly, the defense has played so well and has been so
opportunistic. They do a great job of rallying to football. They
pursue so well, they're very, very intense."

Dubuque will put its flawless mark on the line against defending
conference champion and No. 20 Wartburg Saturday. The Knights are
(4-1, 2-1)

"I expect their best game from them," Zweifel said. "For them
this is a game they must win if they want to be able to have any
self control of their destiny. A big game in this stage of the
year."

The Spartans have been led by the play of quarterback Wyatt
Hanus. Hanus has thrown for 1,483 yards and 18 touchdown and has
been intercepted only four times.

"I've got good players surrounding me, senior players that have
been in the program, who guide some of the younger guys and help
out," Hanus said. The Spartans’ biggest weapon has been
Michael Zweifel, who has 60 catches for 894 yards and 11
touchdowns. He also plays in the secondary and has a fumble
recovery for a touchdown. Dubuque is balanced as Justin Spaulding
has rushed for 553 yards and seven touchdowns.

Even though this is unfamiliar territory for Dubuque, the
program is well aware of what is at stake.

"We're playing a game to have to be a chance to be a conference
championship contending team," Coach Zweifel said. "It's a chance
to control our own destiny.We're excited about that."

Behind the Number

63: Points scored by No. 3 St. Thomas as the
Tommies manhandled their archrival St. John’s on Saturday.
The 56-point loss was the worst defeat at St. John’s for
iconic coach John Gagliardi.

Josh Smith has covered Division III sports for more than five years. He writes for multiple publications, including D3football.com beginning in 2012. He has won multiple awards for reporting and photography and lives in southern Wisconsin near UW-Whitewater, where he graduated with a degree in print journalism.